Author of the Alchemancer and Assassin Without a Name fantasy series

The wait is over. Apple debuted their all-new entry into the tablet market and it is called the iPad.

I wanted to post this as a follow-up to my post of a couple of days ago where I wondered if the iPad was really the "Kindle-killer" everyone was thinking it might be. Even now, I don't think the question has been answered as there are people continuing to argue both sides with others who believe the two can happily co-exist. We may not know for sure until the iPad is actually released for sale in a couple of months.

Personally, I think there's room for both. The only crossover in functionality is both devices' ability to act as an eReader. The iPad has the advantage of a backlit color screen, but only 10 hours of battery life. The Kindle has the advantage of eInk, which while black and white is so crisp it's like you're reading a page from a paper book. Also, there's no eyestrain with eInk and the Kindle can literally last for weeks without a charge (with the 3G wireless turned off). People looking to read eBooks will likely go with the more specialized eReader device. People looking for more, the iPad. Regardless, we'll likely see more and better features emerge for both devices, something that is a win-win for consumers.

Of particular note is Apple's iBookstore announcement, which is essentially an app that allows you to purchase/read eBooks. In addition, iTunes will begin selling eBooks. What hasn't been mentioned is if Apple will open iTunes to self-published authors similar to how Amazon has done so with the Kindle store. This model would be similar to developers selling apps for the iPhone through iTunes. It's not that far of a step to include eBooks in on this. For right now, though, eBooks will only come from the major publishing houses. Whether the iPad is the publishing industry's savior remains to be seen.

I'll leave you to formulate your own opinion with some related stories I found interesting:

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